Balochistan tightens curbs on misuse of official vehicles

QUETTA: The Balochistan government has announced a series of steps to enforce austerity measures, including a ban on the use of official vehicles after office hours, as part of what officials described as a wider effort to protect public resources and improve accountability across departments.

The decisions were taken at a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. During the meeting, the provincial government approved stricter controls over the use, monitoring and management of government vehicles.

Under the directives issued at the meeting, all government vehicles will be subjected to a comprehensive audit. Fuel supply will also be limited to vehicles that are verified and officially authorised.

The meeting further approved the phased auction of vehicles older than 2005 and the rationalisation of the government fleet. It was also decided that government vehicles currently in the possession of unauthorised individuals would be retrieved immediately.

According to the decisions taken, this retrieval will apply to former governors, former chief ministers, ex-ministers, retired officers and others who are not entitled to retain official vehicles.

The government has also imposed a complete ban on the use of official vehicles after office hours, except in cases where prior approval has been obtained from the competent authority. In addition, the meeting decided that trackers would be installed in all government vehicles to monitor their movement.

Another restriction approved at the meeting bars government vehicles from being taken outside Balochistan without permission. The provincial administration also decided to monitor vehicles operating within cities through Safe City cameras in an effort to strengthen transparency and oversight.

Austerity drive and oversight

Chief Minister Bugti said the misuse of public resources would not be tolerated and stressed the need for strict enforcement of the new policy. "Strict implementation of austerity measures is essential to ensure the efficient and transparent use of government assets," he said, while directing authorities to take indiscriminate action against unauthorised or unnecessary use of official vehicles.

Officials said the measures form part of a broader austerity campaign aimed at safeguarding public resources and ensuring accountability in government departments.

The latest decisions indicate a tighter provincial approach to the management of state assets, with the government focusing on audits, movement tracking, restrictions on use, and the recovery of vehicles from those no longer authorised to keep them.